Malaysians angry as Sweden holds parents for hitting child

Malaysia's prime minister on Saturday offered help to a Muslim couple detained in Sweden for hitting their son, in a case that has provoked an outcry in the Southeast Asian country.

Many in Muslim-majority Malaysia -- where corporal punishment in schools is allowed -- have questioned the parents' six-week detention and their children reportedly being placed with a non-Muslim foster family.

Azizul Raheem Awaluddin, a Malaysian tourism board director, and his wife Shalwati Nurshal, a teacher, were held on December 18 after they allegedly scolded and hit their youngest son on the arm for not performing his prayers, Malaysian media reported.